The Coffee Conundrum

If my face looks familiar, and you’re an avid coffee drinker, then chances are we’ve met before.  I was formerly a barista at Coffee Break Café on Pearl St., the sweet little shop nestled in the corner of Pearl Plaza between Marshall’s and the Oreck store.  I worked there for about three years, starting a week after my sixteenth birthday and ending just recently when that branch of the Coffee Break mini-chain closed in February.  And I loved it.  I adored the group of regular customers that came every day.  I made some great friends.  It was my first real job.  And free coffee and tea while working- score!

 If you’re familiar with Coffee Break, chances are you’re addicted to it's products; the café only bought and ground the top quality beans sold in the world.  It also offered a variety of baked goods, frozen drinks, and was environmentally friendly (recycling constantly), rewarding to loyal customers (free Wi-Fi, frequent buyer cards, customers of the month, events and raffles), and friendly to those with food allergies (offering a selection of nut-free, dairy-free, caffeine-free and gluten-free goods).  Most likely, if you’re addicted to Coffee Break, you’ve spoiled your taste buds (specialty coffee has a way of making Dunkies taste like charcoal).  And, finally, if you’re as addicted as I was, you had a small but significant life crisis when the Braintree branch shut down (I sunk to the floor of my dorm room and shed a few tears, to be brutally honest.)

So I’ve been on the quest for a Coffee Break replacement for some time now, sadly gazing in the paper-covered windows whenever passing through the strip mall.  (Never fear- still three locations in Quincy, but just a bit out of range for me, mostly immobile as I don't have my own car).  For some reason I have never acquired the taste for Marylou’s coffee (perhaps as it was CBC’s biggest rival?) and have only turned back to Dunk’s when absolutely necessary (eyes drooping at my desk in work).  So, when my boyfriend turned to his GPS for café selections yesterday as we were out driving around, I was excited, but honestly, didn’t expect much.  Specialty coffee can be an expensive and rare business nowadays when there aren’t enough customers to even out the cost of high quality goods, and with the backdrop of a rough economy, most people cut “luxury items” out of their budget, which means no foot traffic for the artsy little café and an explosion in sales of one dollar McDonald’s iced coffees, snug in the cup-holders of minivans citywide.

However, I was taken aback by the Radio Café, nestled in a tiny strip in what appears to be a suburban area of Milton.  We had almost missed it, the tiny storefront nearly hidden, and with construction surrounding the area, we thought maybe it had gotten torn down.  But, alas, we found the tiny shop and I was pleasantly surprised by what we found.  Decorated with music memorabilia and pumping a steady soft stream of what sounded like country music, and with an eclectic little collection of couches and tables, it felt like home: not quite perfectly matchy-matchy but cute and quirky. Our barista was friendly and thorough with our order, and the shop had a large selection of coffee flavors, smoothies and lattes- even ice cream and breakfast sandwiches (which were delicious and fresh, by the way, no frozen and pre-packaged egg patty involved).  Boyfriend really seemed to enjoy his caramel-nut iced coffee (we both were trying to figure which flavor was the most akin to Coffee Break’s Rainforest Caramel Crunch, and I think we picked a winner).  I went with an Arnold Palmer.  The cups were big but the price wasn’t bad.  Satisfying.  We happily hung around the café for a bit even after finishing our little brunch, and the atmosphere was comfortable, if small.   Homey, and…dare I say…CoffeeBreak-esque?

While being a little bit out of the way, maybe a minute or two from Lower Mills and again, in what appears to be a residential area, if you’re truly looking for a good fix, this is a great stop.  I work in Milton, so I feel lucky to have found the little gem.  I can’t wait to go back and try maybe a frozen something-or-other.  I do find it odd though- this strip seemed to be thrown in to a neighborhood, it seems.  I’m wondering how popular it is among Milton residents.  Are we re-defining the idea of a corner store?  A packie and a coffee joint instead of a little convenience store?  Works for me!  Small locally-owned businesses do so much for an area; they become a central spot for learning about town events and getting the feel for the personality of a town.  I’m talking advertising for different fundraisers and school activities, local sports team gear and posters and more truly giving you that chic Boston coffee shop feel.  Love it.  Not to mention a great hang-out for college students like me, who are always looking for a good spot with Wi-fi to hunker down and get some work done, with an source of caffiene and treats readily available.  I’ll definitely be back, as learning about Milton has been fascinating me lately anyhow (I work in Milton).  It’s even helped me understand Braintree a little better, as comparing the two highlights similarities and differences.

Soon to come: Chat about the Dodos concert on 6/14, TOKYO Japanese Cuisine, Fugakyu Japanese cuisine, and some thoughts about the mall.  See you soon!